SMG, pp.373-74

This reading was a critical reading guide. It broke down the main parts of a paper and listed things to look for when doing a peer review. First, you should exam the problem and make sure it is well defined. You want to tell the writer what you understand the problem to be and make sure that is the problem they were trying to convey. Next, assess how well the solution is being argued. You should present the author with tips for strengthening the argument. After this, consider how effectively the counterargument is being addressed and come up with several other possible solutions for the author to consider. Finally, you want to asses how readable the proposal is.

I found this section to be of my benefit. I believe most people, myself included, do not take peer reviews seriously based on the sole fact that we don’t really know what to look for besides grammatical errors. This section was very beneficial because it listed everything you should look for step by step and showed how you can help your peer strengthen their paper. After reading this I believe I will be a better peer review because I know exactly what to look for in a paper.